[Blue Baggie]

His recent actions have been IMO all been wrong. I'm sure racism has a long way to go before equality
can be claimed across our society. Hamilton I feel has been ill advised and spoken out of turn on several issues.
To claim reminders of slavery should be removed, he then shows up wearing a chain and padlock? 
He say he will not "Force" his fellow drivers to take the knee? Another bad choice of words.
Cars being painted black it's all OTT - when the boo's ring out for him and they will, how long will it be before his motivation goes?
McLaren have asked him to take a £12m drop in salary, when he asked for an £8m pay increase.
That gives an indication of he is now in the twilight of his career and his value has dropped like a stone. 
I think he will remembered for driving the best car, not as the best driver, simply because he has not driven and won races
for another team.

[St Charles Owl]

Sorry Blue, I have to disagree with you on a number of points. First of all, Hamilton is the first, and still only black driver to ever be an F1 driver, that smacks of inequality in a sport that admittedly is unequal in so many ways but he is bound to be somewhat of a spokesperson during events like we are seeing today. I think its naive to think that Hamilton would wear a lock and chain if it was considered racist in any form and I am sure there is some symbolism behind it as well. Mercedes made the decision to make the cars black, whether Hamilton was part of that decision is unknown as far as I can see. McLaren haven't offered him anything, its Mercedes who have offered him a contract far less than what he is on now, I think that is a sign of the reduced income F1 is seeing due to various factors but COVID is certainly one of them as we have seen at Mercedes, McClaren in general, and this in turn will mean other drivers also see their worth drop like a stone as you put it. Let's also not forget that F1 has just put in a budget cap of 130m for next season as well, so a number of teams will be cutting their cloth accordingly in the next couple of seasons as contracts expire.He has won the world championship with 2 different teams, McLaren and Mercedes, and holds rookie season records as well as numerous others through his career. Sure he is driving the best car but when was the last time the best car did not win the championship in F1?? You probably have to go back to Button in 2009 or Hamilton in 2008.

[Blue Baggie]

It's difficult to be critical of Hamilton without appearing to be racist I just think he was in a great position to build and cement racial harmony
But he has not gone about it in the right way. The painting of the cars is wrong IMO - a black car for a black driver doesn't sit right with me.
The budget caps will indeed make a bid difference to the coming season. The £130m budget is IMO no where big enough. Hamilton is reportedly
being offered £20m (which wouldn't we all like) but current reports show he earns £32-36m so if true it's a big drop.
The big boys spend more then £130m on engines and engine development, never mind the rest of the car, staff, transport, etc, etc Several exclusions
and get out clauses will be in place or hidden i'm sure of that.
My other thoughts were along the lines of what I expect many of his fans to be saying. My personal views are he is the best "racer" when he is
focussed. But best "driver" now that's a totally different question IMO. He has certainly been blessed with the best car.
Max Verstappen I consider to be a great racer, but as for best driver again not IMO. Ricciardo and Raikkonen I consider to currently be the best drivers.
This maybe considered odd as they don't win many races, but that's simply down to the cars IMO.
Nice to have a debate on F1 on here - maybe we can entice a few others?

[St Charles Owl]

Having looked a bit more at the spending cap I think that drivers salaries are not included in this, so that would make the budgets stretch a bit more. Hamilton has always struggled with these sort of issues, first as I said he is the only black driver ever, so he is a massive magnet for the press whenever these things come to the top of the new headlines. A lot of the BLM type struggles over here also surround the relative poverty of that community in the inner cities, and Hamilton is as divorced from that scenario as its possible to be, not his fault but it really does mean he struggles with real understanding. Sometimes that shows!! I know he does a lot of charity work, particularly with UNICEF and other kids charities but I am sure most of the drivers also do that.

I agree with the racer compared to driver comment, Hamilton is generally at his best when he is challenged on the track as that is when his racing skills shine and yes he is definitely in the best car. The difference between him and others though is he doesn't make many stupid mistakes, something the likes of Vettel and Verstappen have been guilty of. Hamilton is known in the sport of being one of the best at looking after his car, whether it be the tyres or some other aspect when needed and this means he finishes races more often than most by making a reliable car even more reliable. Ricciardo is by far the best overtaker, he can brake later than any other driver. Raikkonen is a good shout, bags of experience but never the No1 at a good team. I would say Leclerc has a chance to be a good driver, once he loses the boy racer out of him!!

[Blue Baggie]

I'm not convinced he wasn't given the breaks everyone needs simply because of his colour. I've never considered him as
a black guy, because his mom is white. I've always thought of him as of mixed race and very English.
I'm not sure who Lewis's friends are away from the track - if you believe the media it's mainly rappers from the USA.
Maybe they are influencing his behaviour? His personal life is shrouded in mystery. The Nichole Scherzinger thing always
looked suspect IMO - it looks as though it was a pretence to boost his / her popularity. A bit like the Elton John and Renate wedding.
I'm sure the tabloids will let us all know when they feel the time is right.  
I totally agree about Leclerc, another season and he will be right at the top, you can see why Vettel is now looking for a new drive.
Interesting news today "Alonso" is coming back and has a drive secured with Renault, although it's yet to be confirmed.

[St Charles Owl]

I have a friend whose 17 year old son drives for McClaren with Jarett Andretti in the Pirelli GT4 series over here, been to a few of his races and always get pit passes and all access so its a great insight into racing!!  This lad is a really good prospect but his dad is basically financing everything he does currently but is now at the end of the road with regards to financing it.  So he needs a good sponsor to take his career any further and that is really tough to do.  I am not aware of how Hamilton got to F1 but at some point someone he knew was able to finance it and that seems to be a huge difference between those who make it and those that don't!!

Here is a picture at the last race I saw him at the Las Vegas Speedway.



I actually like the fact that Hamilton doesn't flaunt his private life as much as others do, there is a lot of mystery surrounding him but in this age of social media thats not a bad thing!!

In the next couple of years we will see Leclerc and Verstappen fighting it out, but that assumes that Ferrari and Red Bull can get there cars up to the level of the Silver Arrows!!

[Blue Baggie]

Brilliant !!! just brilliant. Great picture to boot.
If the lad is good enough he still has a chance, fingers crossed for him. A lot of drivers have a major hurdle
they show the ability but then the funds run dry. In the current climate it's more difficult then ever.
Hamilton followed the Karting method and secured junior drives when he was a youngster.
I have no idea who has been his backer over the years ?

[St Charles Owl]

He managed to get a scholorship to race with Andretti this season, which starts in Virginia this week. The company I work for have sponsored him before, his dad is a big customer of ours, so as a Sheffield based company we sponsored him when he drove Minis in the UK last year at Brands Hatch, Silverstone and Donnington. We are also sponsoring him at Sonoma Raceway in August where we are holding a customer event at the same time. But you are right, he needs to be spotted by someone willing to stump up over $250,000 a year just to keep him driving!!

[Blue Baggie]

Do they do franchises in the states ? Invest $100K in a driver and get a percentage of future winnings ?

[St Charles Owl]

Do they do franchises in the states ? Invest $100K in a driver and get a percentage of future winnings ?

Not that I am aware of. Sponsorship money basically puts your name somewhere on the car or racing suit or helmet, the money is used to keep the team running. Prize money, if there is any, I believe at my friends level goes to the team. I would assume once you get further up the ladder that might be different. Jared Andretti is paid by the team I think, my friend is unpaid but drives essentially drives for free. He has reached the level where all the finances get very complicated but as he is a senior at high school he doesn't need income, he needs the exposure.